Archive for March, 2011

I recently learned about an interesting event held on March 31, 2011 that higlights Italian innovation in Silicon Valley (they also have an event in New York). The what? 12 Finalists of the Mind the Bridge business plan competition and Intesa Sanpaolo Startup Initiative. Coined Italian Innovation Day, it’s not surprising that the Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco is one of their partners.
Small to medium enterprises are cherry picked by a committee that best represent the Italian genius. Some of the companies presenting and exhibiting for investors, thought leaders and influencers include: BioSolids Technologies, PorcoVino.com, Glossom, VIsualSport, Mopapp, Sipso, SuperCompare, Minteos and others.

Because once you find THE answer, you often stop looking. Which explains a lot – from the failure of hugely successful businesses to women who haven’t changed their hairstyle since 1963. Yes, we still have beehives in Albuquerque. :)… and they’re not making some post-ironic comment or retro statement. Wow, the cost of the hairspray alone…But I digress.
Meanwhile, the questions keep changing.
Software? Remember when Microstuff would suck all the air out of a room? Big, bad, all-consuming. Now, it’s Zuckerberg and FB.
“Word Processing?” Doncha you just love your new Wang?
…and isn’t it exciting when you get a lettertelegramlong-distance phone callemailtext letter?
The music biz? Been to Tower Records lately?
Home Entertainment? Browsed the shelves at Blockbuster lately?
Transportation? Internal combustion is so yesterday. Or will be soon. Hey, an electric Rolls!
And so it goes. Happy Friday to one and all.
By Guest Blogger, Mary Schmidt, Marketing Troubleshooter

I’ve lost too many people to cancer, including my parents and my dear college friend Samantha, to breast cancer. Cancer is not my friend. People researching ways to prevent and eradicate it are! So I’m happy to play in support of GB Records’ Breast Cancer Benefit at Ashkenaz, Wednesday, April 6. An event run in conjunction with The Save the Ta-Tas Foundation, another organization committed to keeping women healthy and cancer-free, the night includes a bunch of original Americana, pop, rock and roll by myself as well as Shay Aster, The McGrath Project, Serena and others. Plus our venue, Ashkenaz is a cool, Berkeley institution. I’ll be playing with the band shortly after 8pm.April 6, 2011, 8pm Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, CA. $10/$15 door

A clinical report released on Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics makes the claim that “researchers have proposed a new condition called ‘Facebook depression.” It develops, says the report “when preteens and teens spend a great deal of time on social media sites, such as Facebook and then begin to exhibit classic symptoms of depression.” Trouble is, it’s a made-up condition which, despite claims to the contrary, is not backed-up by any research.
That catchy new condition got the report a lot of media attention but, after examining all of the report’s related references and speaking with the report’s lead author and the lead author of one of the research studies that this claim is based on, I’ve concluded that the diagnosis of Facebook depression is a non-existent condition. Of course, people can become depressed when they encounter depressing content on Facebook, but that would be true in any venue. Why create conditions like school depression, playground depression or home depression.
The section on Facebook depression is just one paragraph in an otherwise excellent report with some positive comments on social networking and some solid advice to parents. It’s too bad that it’s the part of the…

On April 10, 2011, Bob Dylan will play Vietnam for the first time in Ho Chi Minh City at RMIT University. In preparation for his visit, the Vietnamese Censorship Authority has asked the RMIT English department to revise the lyrics to be linguistically, and grammatically correct for Vietnamese students. Below are the party approved lyrics for Mr.Dylan to sing to his song “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”:

It is of no use whatsoever to sit and question the circumstances, young lady.It has now become a moot point.And it is also futile, to sit and be curious about what already is so, miss mature adolescent female,if you had not been aware of this previously.When your male chicken sings as the sun comes up,look out your window and I will have abandoned the premises.It is because of you that I am now in transit.Don’t think the same thought double the number of times one might ordinarily think. There are no anomalies here.

After two weeks and three days following the earthquake in Japan, another large quake or aftershock hit us. At these sizes we can’t really tell the difference. It was a 6.5 to the north east out at sea and of course we felt it here in Tokyo. The start of another day. With all these shakes it appears that my confidence in Japanese buildings have been reinforced. Although they move and objects inside tremble, for the most part everything comes back to normal when the earth settles. They make the best earthquake resistant structures in the world likely.
Most if not all the damage we see in the north was primarily from the Tsunami; nuclear reactor included. Regarding that reactor, more and more issues keep arising with it. The news at times is likely as toxic and disheartening as the radioactive waste. One of which really breaks any confidence if I had any left in TEPCO.
The nuclear geniuses at TEPCO had reported yesterday that the radiation levels exposed at the plant was 10,000,000x times the normal limit. That’s 10 Million Times the normal limit. 10 Million times the normal limit for almost anything…

Check out this opinion editorial about rising food prices, published in El Diario, Bolivia’s largest newspaper. The article highlights innovative initiatives, including school feeding programs and climate-friendly agriculture in Bolivia and across sub-Saharan Africa that can help address the ongoing food price crisis. Original from nousihingtheplanet.org.

A recent breaking story in Newsweek is of two USCIS districts—Washington, DC and Baltimore—which have informed attorneys from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) that cases in their districts involving the green card applications of married gay and lesbian couples would be put on hold is the second major step this year toward green cards for same-sex binationals. (The first step was the February 23 decision by the Obama Administration that Section 3 of DOMA was unconstitutional.) Prior to the DOMA decision, these applications were routinely dismissed and deportations were carried out because DOMA rendered same-sex married couples “legal strangers”.
What does the USCIS announcement really mean to you if you are a married same-sex binational couple? First, seek the advice of a competent and trusted immigration attorney. And, if you are uncomfortable with the advice you receive, get a second opinion – or even a third. The best place to start is with the law firm Masliah and Soloway, they are the founders of Immigration Equality, have co-authored the original PPIA legislation and now run the Stop the Deportations Project.

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Renee Blodgett is the founder and editor of We Blog the World, which was created in 2008. Renee has lived in ten countries and traveled to nearly 80, giving her a unique understanding and appreciation of international cultures. She is ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes and referenced in two renowned books on how social media is changing how we live our lives.

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